Happy Halloween!

I'm happy to be back in the Media Center this week!  It will be a busy one!  Linda will be out on Monday and Tuesday, so please be patient with me as I try to check in and out books!  Thanks!

Reader's Theater begins this week!  I hope to see them as soon as they can get to the Media Center.  I will start at 8:45 and go until 9:05.  The list is in the email from Rebecca Galloza.  Thanks!

In honor of the holiday this week, I have some fun choices for Kindergarten!

1. They are:  Too Many Pumpkins and a pumpkin sequencing activity, this would also include a Smartboard pumpkin life cycle activity.
2. Click, Clack, Boo!  Farmer Brown doesn't like Halloween, see how the animals help him enjoy it!  The activity that goes with this is a little book called What Will I be...
3. Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf,  and an Autumn Leaf Book.
4. The Strange Visitor, a flannel board story.

I will also be starting WiggleWorks this week.  Don't panic!  I have added all of the names of your students, if you haven't already.  Thanks to those of you who entered your students' names!  You might also want to go in and set the levels for your students.

I also have some fun choices for PreK!

Pumpkin Faces, Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Halloween Bugs, Bugs that go Bump in the Night, or Leaf Man.

Have a FUN week!

Busy Week!

Laminating...
If you would like to laminate, either email, call us, or come down and write your name on the little card above the laminator.  Sometimes we don't know who turned it on, and then we turn it off.  It only takes 15 minutes to warm up, so let us know and we will be happy to help!  Thanks!

This week I will be at GLAD training Tuesday-Friday.  I have a great sub, Carole Gerloff, who taught kindergarten here at Dierzen for many years.  She is also Beth Miller's sister!  I know she will do a great job!

Also this week, Katie, Jen, and Nuria will be doing the Second Step assessments during Media Center time for the Kindergarten classes.  

For the K classes, we will be reading either Fall is for Friends, or A Tree is Nice, which ever book your class did not get last week.  If this doesn't go with what you are doing, we also could read, Whoever you are by Mem Fox-- to go with the Second Step curriculum.

For PreK  I will read A Tree is Nice to the classes studying trees, and Can I Play too? or Watch me Throw the Ball for the classes doing the Balls unit.

As always, if you have any questions, or comments, please let me know!

Have a Great Week!!

Thanks so much!

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all of those who helped with the book fair!  It went well!  We cleaned up so fast that I could go out too!  We brought in over $3000.00!  I think this is awesome!  Thanks to all who helped in anyway possible!

This week in the Media Center we are going to be looking at feelings or fall or trees!  For Kindergarten the choices are:

1. A Tree is Nice
2. Fall is for Friends
3. The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
4. When Sophie Gets Angry, Really really angry!

In technology, we can do WiggleWorks, or visit "Pierre, the Acorn" on the U of I website!

In PreK, I can read, My Many Colored Days,  How are you Peeling?, or a book about trees, if that's what theme you are working on now.

Have a great week!

Book Fair Week!

The Book Fair is almost here!  Be looking for the "Book Fair-oh" during conferences!  Please turn in your wish lists as soon as you can.  There will be Spanish books at the fair, so if you need to wait until it is open, that is fine too!  We will be setting up at 11:30 on Wednesday, and the fair is set to open at 1:00.  If you have any time I could really use some help!  I could especially use help for the clean-up at 9:00 on Thursday. I know that it's a lot to ask, but many hands make light work and we could be done in no time with lots of help!  Thanks!

In Kindergarten this week, I will be reading Book Fair Day!  Then we will watch part of the book fair video. We will also be playing  BookFlix on the computers.  Have you had a chance to check it out?  It is a really cool program that has a fiction video paired with a non-fiction book.  If you choose to use it, the user name is vdelc and the password is bookflix.  We were able to purchase it with book fair dollars last year.

In PreK this week we will be watching Yuck! Stuck in the Muck.  It is on Storia, a free app, also from Scholastic.  If you would like information about it, a flyer will be available at the Book Fair.

I am in the midst of moving all of the Spanish books to their own section.  They are all separated at the moment, but not quite all on the shelves as yet.   In doing this process, I have found we have quite a few interesting books!  Did you know we have more non-fiction books in Spanish, than fiction books?  I have also purchased many books relevant to the common core. Come down and take a look! 

The laminator is working well now!  If you need to use it, please let Linda O'Brien or I know when you need it. Please give us 15 minutes head start, so it will be ready for you.  If anyone has any ideas on how to save laminating film, please let me know!  Everytime some one uses the laminator, about 12 inches of film is wasted.  Each roll of film is about $28.00 and we use 2 rolls at a time.  If we keep at the same rate we have been, we will run out by Winter break!  

All the classes have been set up in Wiggle Works.  If you go into the program and click on Manager, you can log in using the password: teacher.  If it doesn't work, it could be that someone else is trying to use it at the same time.  For some reason, it will only allow one person at a time to use the Manager feature.  If you don't know how to add names or have any other questions, please let me know!

Have a great week!

October, here we come!

The Book Fair is coming!

  I have been given the opportunity to  be responsible for the book fairs this year.  I am excited to be able to get even more books into the hands of our students!  This week we will be putting the flyers into your mailboxes so that you can pass them out on Monday, October 6th!  Also, I will be putting "Teacher Wish List" forms into your box.  Sometime during, or even before conferences, come down and choose what books you would like and write them on the forms.  Many families like to purchase books for your classroom.  The theme is Egyptian this year and it will be a "Cool Place to discover Hot books!" (No, I didn't make that up, it comes from Scholastic!)

In Kindergarten, I have some choices for you, for your read aloud: (please respond to my email with your choice- thanks!)

1. Fire! Fire! by Gail Gibbons
2. A Tree is Nice by Janice Udry
3. Martha Doesn't Say Sorry (to go with Second Step)

In technology we will continue to use Book Flix!  This program we were able to get through Scholastic Book Fair money!  It is a great program that pairs a fiction video of a book, and a non-fiction book on the same subject.  For example, Click, Clack, Moo!  is the video, and the book is about dairy cows.  If you want to use it in your classroom, the user name is vdelc and the password is bookflix.  If you notice that it is running slowly, it may because too many people are using it at once.  It is a streaming video!  The kids who have used it seem to like it!
Also in technology news, WiggleWorks is coming.  I take the time to show the kids how to use each part of WiggleWorks, even the part where they can read to the computer (that's why we have microphones in the Media Center!)  I need your help with this one!  Please enter your students names into the program under your class so that when we start it will be all ready for them!  I will add the classes, so you can add the names and the reading levels for your students.  If you are having difficulty with this, please ask me, I would love to help!  Thanks!

For PreK this week I will read either, Daisy the Fire Cow or My Truck is Stuck. Please let me know if you won't be coming to library because of the Fire Safety Fair.  Thanks!

Our Library will be getting a new look!  On Friday, I will begin to pull all of our Spanish books and put them in their own section.  This is a direction that the entire district is taking so that we can match what they do at the Woodstock Public Library.  I will make a Bilingual section as well.  Hopefully this will make it easier for everyone to find those Spanish and Bilingual books!  

Since we have gotten such a positive response to the t-shirts, I will be putting in a new order.  The order forms should be here this week!

Have a great week!

Fall is here!

I hope you all have been enjoying the beautiful fall weather this weekend!

It has come to my attention that more people would like Dierzen staff t-shirts.  I need to know how many people are interested in order to make it worthwhile for an order.  They may be a bit more expensive because our supplier needs to remake the screens.  Please let me know if you are interested!

This week in the Media Center we are almost done doing the CPAA testing!  Please let me, or Christie Brown know if you have students that still need to be tested.

In Kindergarten this week, the Dual Language classes will be hearing Nico and Lola, Kindness shared between a boy and a dog.  The mono-lingual classes will hear either The Gingerbread Man Gets Lost, or Sometimes I Feel Silly!  If you have a preference for either of these, please let me know!  In technology, they will either do Jolly Phonics Fun! on the Smartboard, or will learn how to use our new program, BookFlix.  BookFlix pairs a fiction and a non-fiction book for the children to listen to on the computer.  Once all of the classes have learned how to use it, I will give you the login and password so you can use it in your classrooms as well.

For our PreK friends, we will be following directions by listening to Eric Carle's From Head to Toe, and learning a little sign language in Simply Signs by Cindy Wheeler.

Have a great week!

Fall arrives this week!

This week in the Media Center the Dual Language Kindergarten classes will continue the CPAA testing on the computers.  The monolingual classes will hear a story, Nico and Lola, about a boy who shows kindness to a dog.  We will also be trying a new computer program, BookFlix, purchased for us by PTO with Book Fair dollars.

Some of the PreK classes will be on a field trip to Woodstock Public Library during their Media Center time.  Other classes will be testing on the computers.  Still others will hear The Little Engine That Could. 

If you would like me to do something different with your class, please let me know!  I like to do different things with different classes!

I will be out of the building on Wednesday for an Elementary Library Media Specialists meeting.

Have a Great Week!

Testing, testing, testing!!

This week in the Media Center we will be doing the CPAA assessment. I have great news!  I can log into your class with my own login!  So I don't need to know your password for the actual testing.  We will be testing the Dual Language classes in English this week and in Spanish next week.  
For Kindergarten we will have half of the class at the computers, and the other half will be watching the DVD Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.  If we have time we will also be using the whiteboards to practice writing their names.  If you have name cards that could be brought to the Media Center, that would really help!

For PreK, I need to know your numbers.  Depending on what they are, we may need to change the schedule a bit to get them all in.  For the rest of your class, we can either watch the movie, A Pocket for Corduroy, or read the book.  We will just have to be flexible so this all works!  If we have to go into next week, that will be alright as well. 

In technology news, Donna is out on medical leave. So that means if you have a problem please let me know!  But it also means it may take a bit longer until it can get fixed (if I can't fix it).  We are getting closer to getting the copier problem solved.  It appears that it is not the copier, but some of our computers.  I can fix this!  So if you notice that when you send something to the copier from your computer and when you get to the copier there is a bunch of paper with strange writing on it, please let me or Linda Stanek know!

Lastly, I will be out on Tuesday and Wednesday this week for GLAD training.  There will be a sub for me and the testing should still continue as planned.

Have a great week!

This week in the Media Center

This week the Kindergarten Classes will hear a story about The Library Dragon!  We will also be using the computers for more "mouse" practice.  We will be playing KidPix.  This program helps the children learn to control the mouse in a fun way!

The PreK classes will either hear Splat the Cat or Mr. Wiggle.  The times have changed a bit from the original schedule, so here it is again:
Monday: (not this week!)
12:35-12:55: Beth Miller
12:50-1:10: Beatriz Ruiz
1:05-1:25: Katie Haydysch
1:20-1:40: Alyssa DiGuido
Tuesday:
9:05-9:35: Emily Beaumont
9:15-9:35: Tiffany Mondek
Wednesday:
10:05-10:35:  Megan Wilson and Tiffany Mondek
Thursday:
9:05-9:25: Beth Miller
9:15-9:35:  Beatriz Ruiz
Friday:
9:05-9:25: Katie Haydysch
9:15-9:35: Alyssa DiGuido
See you in the Media Center!

Extra stuff:
I have 4 very nice laptop computer bags that could go to nice homes--anyone want them?
I also have 3 boxes of single person tape players--could be good for those Debbie Diller stations?
They would need batteries, but then we could use the listening center books and tapes!
You still have one more chance for t-shirts!  I will be sending in the order tonight-Tuesday, Sept. 3!

Have a great short week!

Welcome to a new year in the Media Center!  

Each week I will post important information on what is happening in the Media Center.

This week I am beginning a new program.  It is called "The Golden Shelf Elf Award!"  I have just read a book to all Kindergarten classes about an elf, named Skeeter, who lives in the library.  He is working hard at making the library a wonderful place.  The children can help by following a few rules:

1. Use a Shelf Marker.
2. Return your books when they are due.
3. Keep your books clean and neat.
4. Use a book mark to save your place.
5. Turn the pages carefully.
6. Keep your books safe.
7. Use a quiet voice in the library.

If all of the books from your class come back on time, or your class has done an especially good job in the media center, you will get to hang "The Golden Shelf Elf Award" outside your classroom for the week.  And I will post it on this blog!  I will be telling all the classes about this award this week.

The Kindergarten children will be hearing a book, What Happened to Marion's Book? by Brook Berg.  It is about a hedgehog who loves books, but ruins a library book.  She tries many things to fix it, but in the end she must pay for the book.  The children will also learn how to use KidPix this week, and yes, they will be on the computers!

The PreK children will be hearing a book, We're Going on a Book Hunt by Pat Miller.  They will then get to check out a book.  Please let me know if you have not seen the new schedule.

As we get farther into the year, I will be asking you to let me know what you are doing in your classroom.  I really enjoy finding books to read that relate to what is going on in your class!

Any questions or comments, please email me!  ncain@wcusd200.org

Have a great week!

Last post of the year!

Last minute details!

Please make sure you turn in all of your items to the Media Center on or BEFORE Wednesday, May 22nd!
.  
I have three stations set up for the laptops, and iPads:  

1. For those teaching Summer school, or working over the summer
2. For those who want to come back and pick up their iPad and/or laptop, June 18th.  (Please remember you cannot leave it in your classroom over the summer.)
3. For those who want to leave them here until August.

No matter what your category, your laptop and iPad must be turned in on Wednesday.

If you are moving your classroom, I need ALL of the items on your list.  We are keeping them all separate in the Media Center, so you will get your own things back.  

I went around to all of the classrooms over the weekend and did an inventory on all the items I could find.  I will contact you personally if I couldn't find something.

Please look through all of your books, if it has a bar code on it, it needs to come back to the library.  We have quite a few library books still out.

Lastly, I want to thank you for a great year!  I always enjoy working with all of you!  For those who are leaving I wish you all the best of everything, and I will miss you!  For everyone else, I will see you in August!

Have a great summer!

Coming down to the Wire!

The Chicks are finally here!! 

We have 5 chicks in the brooder box.  There are still 2 in the incubator trying to come out.  They will be here all week so all classes will get a chance to see them!  If anyone asks, I think the reason they were so late was because the incubator was too cool.  I'm afraid that my thermometer didn't show the correct temperature.  Better luck next year!

This is the last full week that the children will come to library.  The last books have been checked out, and we will be looking forward to seeing them all returned!  All student books are due no later than May 14th.  Overdue notices will come out this week.  I will also be sending home a note about Library at the end of the year.  We will hand it out during library time.  
Next week (May 13-17) we will have an abbreviated schedule.  This means that PreK will not come to the library and Kindergarten will come for less time and at different times.  I will be meeting with Tricia to finalize a schedule that I think will work.  As soon as the schedule is finalized, we will send it to you via email.

For our Kindergarten friends, we will have the Second Step assessment this week.  I will also read Library Lion and if we have time, we'll do a paper about our favorite Media Center activities.

For our PreK friends, I will be reading Dora's Chicks, or an Eric Carle book about bugs.  I have The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, The  Very Lonely Firefly, and The Very Quiet Cricket. These all have a special surprise at the end of the book!  I will have them on hand, so just tell me which one you would like when you come!

Have a great teacher appreciation week!  I appreciate all of you!

Important Information!

This post is full of important information!!

This is the LAST week of student check-out.  Next week, you will still come at your usual time, but your students won't check out books.  For PreK (next week) I will just read them a story. 

 ALL STUDENT BOOKS ARE DUE ON OR BEFORE MAY 14TH.  Please help us get those books back!  I will be sending out over due notices at the end of this week.
All staff materials are due May 17th.  I will print a list of the items that you have out.  There will  be more details on this as the time comes closer.  There are certain items I do not want back, but need to keep track of.  

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Media Center time will again be in the STAR WING due to Aimsweb math testing.  I have a movie all set up for you to watch while your children are being tested.  Please watch your children carefully!  Last week we had some problems with things being used by the children that shouldn't have been.  Also someone wrote on the Smartboard with a marker.  
Thursday and Friday will be back in the Media Center.

The Chicks should hatch on or about Tuesday this week!  If you are in the Media Center for testing, please help me out by making sure the children are careful around the incubator and the brooder box.  The light on the box is HOT, so make sure they don't touch it!  The children get very excited about the chicks!  So please monitor how many students are at the incubator at a time, to minimize pushing and shoving.

This week for Kindergarten I will be reading Daisy Comes Home by Jan Brett.  We will also watch Jan drawing a chick and try it ourselves!

For PreK, I really will read Dora's Chicks.  I'm afraid Mama Hen has flown the coop!  She's not at home nor at school...oh well.

Have a great week!

Things are a Changing!

Please note that Monday and Tuesday Library will be in the STAR WING!  Then, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be the Kindergarten Fine Arts Program, and library will be back in the MEDIA CENTER.  What a busy week!

For Kindergarten, I will be reading a non-fiction book about Chickens, and we will be viewing "See How they Grow" video about chickens.  It shows how they hatch and grow and eat, etc.!  If your class is seeing me in the Media Center, we will be learning how to play Type to Learn Jr.  If they are seeing me in the Star Wing, we will be using the minis.  If anyone could spare their iPad, I could use them as well. Please?

For PreK, I am unable to read Mama Hen because I can't find her!  I'm hoping she will turn up sometime before the chicks hatch!  So this week I will read Dora's Chicks or The Egg in the Hole Book.

Next week, April 29-May 3 will be the last week of book check-out for the students.  All student books will be due on May 14th.  This date is set by District 200 as well as the closure of the library May 15th.  Tricia and I are still working on a schedule for that week, so you will still get some of your library planning time.

Have a great week!

Career Week!

Looks like another busy week at Verda Dierzen ELC!  This week for Kindergarten I will read The Enormous Egg or Chickens by Gail Gibbons.  I also have a Smartboard activity about careers.  In addition to this, I have an "egg sort."  A wise teacher once told me that by having children do sorts, you can raise their IQs! !I found that very interesting!

For PreK I will be reading Mama Hen and we will see Mama Hen lay some eggs!

In Technology news, Donna has been able to fix Type to Learn Jr.  I am considering teaching this in the Media Center.  Let me know if this is something you would like your students to learn.

Have a great week!

Busy times at VDELC!

The eggs are coming, the eggs are coming!! 

I will pick up and "set" the eggs on Tuesday morning.  Then, hopefully, in 21 days we will have chicks in the Media Center!  That means that this week I will be reading Chickens Aren't the Only Ones by Ruth Heller to the Kindergarten classes, and An Egg is Quiet to the PreK classes.  If this doesn't work for you, please let me know!  I am also going to have the Kindergarten children do some thinking and writing about oviparous animals.

Technology:
If you would like to get your email, and take attendance on one of your desktop computers, please let me know!  We need to let the technology department know that the "Steady State" transition has not been a smooth one.  I was under the impression that it was not to be on teacher stations, but this is not the case.  I have also learned that the "Home page" for internet explorer is no longer set to the library page. If there is anything else you are noticing about your computers please let me know!  It has not been put on the Media Center computers as yet, but I expect this to happen this week.  I will take any and all concerns to the technology department.

I'm looking forward to a busy, fun-filled April!

One more week!

For Kindergarten this week in the Media Center I will be concentrating on Fiction/Non fiction books and where they are located in the library.  I found a great book, The Shelf Elf Helps Out, that tells about the different sections of the numbered section of the library.  I also found some games for the Smartboard on this subject.  It should be fun!

For PreK, I will be reading a book about Spring.  I have one about a classroom pet that goes home for Spring break and the adventures that he has! 

In Technology news, Donna has begun to re-image computers in the building.  She will be putting Steady State on the student computers.  I have taught the children in the Media Center to find the educational activities on the Library Webpage.  Things like, Starfall, Seussville, ABCMouse.com can all be found there.  If there are any other websites you would like included, please let me know!  I can easily add them to the webpage.  If there is a piece of software you would like to use, such as Millie's Math House, for example, you can check it out of the Media Center at any time.  Also if you would like your empty software box back, you can have it! (Please!)

Have a great week and a FUN SPRING BREAK!!

Spring Break is coming!

Now this week we will have Dr. Seuss night for Kindergarten!  
So the choices for Kindergarten are wide and varied!  Here they are:
Dr. Seuss 2:  The Sneetches and Other stories
Commotion in the Ocean-to go with the goldfish, and a fish paper
Library Skills--The Shelf Elf Helps Out or Fiction/ Non fiction if your class hasn't heard it yet
And, for later in the week:  The Leprechaun in the Basement--to go with St. Patrick's day!

For PreK:
The Orange Splott for building unit or Watch me throw the Ball, for the balls unit!

Technology news:
Donna almost has the new image ready for your student computers!  We are going to handle the software differently from now on. You will get a list of the programs available to you.  When you would like to use one, you can come down to the Media Center and check it out, then you return it when you are finished.  We don't have enough of every program for every person, so this seems to be the best way to handle it.

I hope you have a great week!

Dr. Seuss Week!

Happy Dr. Seuss Week!

For both Kindergarten and PreK this week we will be talking about and reading about Dr. Seuss!  Some Kindergarten classes have already heard Dr. Seuss Pops Up!, so they will be hearing about the Sneetches this week.  If they have already heard that, we will be reading a biography about Dr. Seuss.  The PreK will all be hearing Dr. Seuss Pops Up!

In technology news, Donna will begin re-imaging computers this month.  She will be putting on a program called "Steady State" on all of the student stations.  Steady state is a program that causes your computers to go back to its original settings after it is shut down. This helps your computers so that if the kids do something weird to them, it is gone the next morning.   How does this affect you?  This means that every night when you shut down your computer, if you have marked any favorites, they will disappear when you turn them on in the morning.  If you have loaded anything, saved anything to the desktop, it will be gone.  This will only be on the student computers!  It is always a good idea to save everything to your own home directory (your "h" drive).  If you don't remember how to do this, just ask me, I can help! 
 I have been teaching the kids in the Media Center to click on "Kids Links" on our Library web page.  This should be your home page when you open Internet Explorer. This way, we don't have to rely on "Favorites." 
We also have decided on which software programs we will be using.  Our technology committee went through all of our software (which is A LOT!!) and tested it, and aligned them to the Common Core Standards for K and The Gold Standards for PreK.  A BIG thank you goes to Megan Wilson, Nikki Kunde, and Laura Bianchi!!  When Donna is finished you will be receiving some CD ROMs that you can use on your computers.

Have a great week!

March comes in this week!

This week in Kindergarten, we have many choices! Some classes will be finishing their study of Mo Willems.  Others will be working on Fiction and Nonfiction books and where to find them.  At the end of the week I will begin to do  a Dr. Seuss author study.  This can last several weeks, so it will work to start it a bit early.  If none of these options work for your class, I can read the Pigeon books, then we will draw a pigeon!  Let me know what will work for your class!

In PreK I will read Can I Play too? by Mo Willems.  I was thinking of reading Dr. Seuss books next week.

Have a great week! 

This week in the Media Center

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend!

The bookfair went well and you can still order online until February 28th!  Just go to: Verda Dierzen book fair
and you can order some more new books!  

In the Media Center this week, with the kindergarten classes, we will be talking about Presidents.  I can read either Just Like Abraham Lincoln, or George Washington's teeth.  We will then write about what we would do if we were the President.  
Some classes are right in the middle of our Mo Willems author study.  We are using the Super 3 Method of research.  It basically has 3 parts:  Plan, Do, Review.  It's not too late for your class to join us!
The third option is learning about fiction and nonfiction books, and where they are located in the library.  I have been reading about penguins, but I could do other animals as well.

For PreK, I will be reading about playing with our friends.  I will read, Come out and Play or Join in and Play.  This is to go with your Second Step lesson this week.

Have a great week!

Don't forget the Book Fair!

This week in the Media Center we will be having a book fair during conferences.   Be sure to come down and make out your wish list!

This week for the Kindergarten classes I will be reading Just Like Abraham Lincoln and doing a draw-together Lincoln, or Valentine Bears and we will make hearts.  If you would like me to begin the Mo Willems author study with your class, just let me know!

For our PreK friends, I will be reading, Love Splat!  This is a cute story about a cat named Splat.

I hope you all have a great week!  May all of your conferences go well!  If you need me to sit in on any of them, just let me know--I'd be happy to!

Welcome Spring?

Well, the groundhog did not see his shadow, so that means and early spring.  Doesn't look like it to me!!
Oh well, we have been lucky so far this winter, over all. 

This week in the Media Center:
For Kindergarten, I'd like to finish up with the Quilts, so if your class hasn't done it yet, they will this week.  If that is a problem, please let me know!  I also have the Mo Willems author study, if you  are interested.  This will take about 3 weeks.  Then there is one more thing I need to do with your classes, but I need your help.  I am going to do a Fiction/Non-fiction activity.  They will learn to identify the difference and then tell where to find fiction or non-fiction books in the library.  This is one of the Media Center standards that all Kindergarten children need learn before the end of the year.  The help I need is to know a subject you have done or are doing in your class.  For example, I have noticed that some of you have studied penguins.  This would be a perfect subject for me because I can show a fiction book, such as Tacky the Penguin.  Then I can show or read a non-fiction book about penguins.  So if you are studying any animals or subject at this time, or plan to in the near future, please let me know.

For PreK, I am reading Snow Friends.  I noticed that your Second Step lesson this week is about friends, and it is snowy outside!

Have a GREAT week!

Lots of different things going on this week!

Wow!  What a week!  We start with 100 day and end with Groundhog day!  We will certainly be busy!

For Kindergarten this week:
I have had a conversation with one of the teachers in which we were discussing Author studies.  I would be happy to do an author study with your class.  I will plan one for each month until the end of the year.  To that end, this month I will be talking about Mo Willems--the author of the Pigeon books, Knuffelbunny, and the Elephant and Piggie books.  I will also have other things available, so you don't have to choose this option.
Choices for this week:
The Quiltmaker's Gift (I will continue to have this option until everyone has done it!)
The 100th day of School
Punxsutawney Phyllis
Mo Willems author study.

For PreK
Since I didn't see most of you last week I will plan on reading Winter is the Warmest Season, or The Big Orange Splot, or Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed.  I also have a PreK Groundhog book to read on Thursday, if you would like.  I will have the books ready, just let me know which one you would like when you come.  Thanks!

In Technology news:  
I'm sure your kids have been telling you about ABCMouse.com.  We have been using this in the Media Center since December.  I would encourage you to use this in your classroom as well!  It is free to schools, and it is aligned with the Common Core Standards.  It is an awesome site and fits very well with our curriculum.  Just go to www.abcmouse.com to set up your account.  Click on the right top corner where it says Schools/teachers.  You then set up a password, and can  enter your entire class. If you need help with this, let me know.  Last week I received an email from them about whether or not you should teach children the letter names or sounds first. Their answer was directed to parents and they said that while phonics and letters are very important, it is even more important to talk to and read to your child.  I thought this was right on target!  So I would give it a try!

Have a great week!

Winter is here!

I hope all of you are keeping nice and warm this week!

In Technology news:
In the district and even in our own building, there have been some problems with laptop power cords.  Please if you notice anything wrong with yours, don't plug it in!  Bring it down to me so it can be replaced immediately!  Remember, safety first!

In the Media Center this week for Kindergarten, I have a few choices:
 
To go with your fabric unit, I will read The Quilt Maker's Gift and share how to make quilts.  We will then make quilt squares for a quilt to hang in the Media Center.
If you are studying winter, I can  read, The Snow Day, a fun book about a teacher who thinks it will be a snow day!  We will then make snowflakes.
To lay the ground work for our research project, I will read Stephanie's Ponytail and we will look for copyright symbols. This lesson can stand alone before we do the research project.  I have decided to do this as a class project.  We will use our "Wonder board" to find a topic, then use the Super 3 method of research, to find out about it.

For PreK:
Since I will only be seeing the afternoon classes this week, I was thinking of reading, The Missing Mitten Mystery or another snowy book.
Or if you would rather, I have some other thoughts:
For the Buildings unit:  The Big Orange Splot--or Wait! No Paint for the am classes that didn't hear it.
For the Clothes unit:  Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, or Does a Chimp Wear Clothes?

As always, I am happy to find things to read that go with your curriculum!  Any suggestions are always welcome!

Happy New Year!

I am finally getting back into the swing of things!  Thank you for all of your kind words and thoughts!

For Kindergarten this week I am continuing the study of "The Mitten"  I am NOT reading the Jan Brett book so that you can read it in your classroom.  If you would like me to, I will! (just let me know!) I am planning on reading "The Mitten" by Alvin Tressault and "The Old Man's Mitten" by Yevonne Pollack this week.  I have a Smartboard activity where we discuss all the different stories!  
On the computers they have been playing ABCmouse.com and WiggleWorks.  If there is any other great sites you have found, please let me know.  If you would like them to learn TypetoLearn Jr. I will help them get started.  It would help if you could enter their names into this program under your classroom.
Looking ahead,  I know some (or all) of you will be studying Fabric with the Foss unit.  Please let me know when this happens, I would like to share my love of quilting with your kids!  Also coming up, I am going to use my "Wonder Board"  to talk about research.  Each class will pick a "wonder" and we will use the "Big 3" method of doing research to find out the answer.  This process may take several weeks.

For PreK I will be reading books about winter.  If there is any specific book you would like me to read, please let me know!  I have one called, "Winter is the Warmest Season"  that I would like to read this week.

A technology reminder:  your computers could be re-imaged at any time.  This means you need to always save your documents to your "h" drive.  The reason the technology people do this each year is because it cleans the computers of any unwanted problems, and adds any updates that are necessary to make your computers run smoothly.  

Have a great week!